Hello All,

I'm new to this forum and would like to share my experience and get your thoughts.

In the middle of the night while sleeping I used to suffocate (or feel like suffocating) and will try to move my arms and legs for help. But I would feel like my whole body is numb and none of my body parts move. I feel like I'm going to die if I don’t get up. This has happened many nights. Sometimes, I even know that I’m asleep and waking up would help. I would try to open my eyes, cry out loud but no luck. Suddenly, I will jump out of bed after a long struggle (at least feels like a long struggle).

My second experience is that few nights, right in the middle of my sleep, I would feel like I'm getting up off the bed and moving away from the bed. The strange thing is I’m not physically up. I can literally feel that my body is very light and kind of floating away from my bed. For couple of nights I was able to realize that (or think) this is a dream and went along with it. I was able to guide myself to do things. However, those nights, in which I realized the feeling as dream, it was very short. The moment I realize it’s a dream and try to continue, I would wake up.

My third experience is that very rarely (not as often as my previous experiences), I realized I'm in the middle of a dream and tried to do things I like. I have had success with that but again just for couple of minutes (I think). I would wake up in the middle of the night and will force myself to sleep fast so that I can continue my dream but never had success with it. Neither did I succeed when I tried to induce this experience going to bed.

What do we call these? Have any of you had these kinds of experiences? Please share your thoughts.